The family banquet in the palace is not so much a family gathering, but a normal communication between the monarch and his ministers.
Even the prince would not dare to claim to be the brother of Han Xianzong at such a banquet. When the monarch is happy, he can claim that the prince and himself are brothers, but if the prince claims to be the brother of the monarch, he will commit the following crime.
The family banquet was held once a year, so it was held on an extraordinarily grand scale. Officials of the third and higher ranks of the imperial court all brought their wives and children to the banquet, and the princes also brought Fujin with them.
Compared with previous years, this year's family banquet has some differences. For example, two concubines in Han Xianzong's harem are pregnant and are about to support the royal family, so the ministers intend to make this banquet more enjoyable. Be lively.
The concubines in the harem started dressing up early because the occasion was so important that even though Xie Ziyue was tired during her pregnancy, she had to get up early to dress up.
Tao Xiang dressed her up, and she sat in front of the mirror and fell asleep. Except for the slightly plumper cheeks, the beauty in the mirror even looked more beautiful than before she was pregnant.
Even my skin is much better than before.
"Your Highness really feels sorry for your Majesty. I heard that many women get spots on their faces when they are pregnant. However, your skin is even better than before. This shows that Your Highness is blessed and feels sorry for your Majesty."
Taoxiang used to like to call the unborn emperor the prince, but after listening to the conversation between Xie Ziyue and Han Xianzong last time, she also felt that the empress might be pregnant with a little princess, so she changed the title.
Gu Xuan was still sleeping in her belly at this time. Xie Ziyue didn't feel her movement, so she smiled and said: "Yes, I heard before that if you become more beautiful after being pregnant, then you will be pregnant with your daughter." , The emperor has always had a quiet temperament, so he must be a little princess."
Many women in the harem are deliberately trying to give birth to a prince, but Xie Ziyue takes these very lightly.
It was not easy for her to be pregnant this time. No matter whether the baby was a prince or a princess, he would be her darling, and she would definitely love him with all her heart.
Princes and princesses were the same to her. Han Xianzong had a deep relationship with her, so she didn't have to give birth to a prince to show her status.
Having a daughter, Cheng Huan, is her biggest dream.
Tao Xiang was naturally happy too, and while saying some flattering words, she took out the hairpin from the jewelry box.
Seeing this, Xie Ziyue said: "I will dress a little more lightly today."
She was not young after all, and it was very uncomfortable to have heavy jewelry on her head.
Tao Xiang hesitated for a moment. This was an important occasion after all. Would it be bad if the empress dressed too simply?
But now it’s better to follow the mother’s body. After all, the mother is pregnant now. No matter how simple the dress is, no one dares to look down on the mother.
So Xie Ziyue only wore the attire of an imperial concubine, and her headdress only consisted of a simple hairpin and a hairpin, which was much lighter than the formal attire of an imperial concubine.
Even so, Xie Ziyue was not used to it. She needed someone to help her when she stood up.
The imperial concubine is second only to the queen, and according to etiquette, she should sit below the queen.
However, she couldn't resist Han Xianzong's preference and placed Xie Ziyue's position on her right. In the Yan Dynasty, the left was respected, so the queen sat on the left of Han Xianzong.
Xie Ziyue is seated like this, as if she is the deputy queen.
The queen, who was dressed up today, felt particularly dazzling when she saw Han Xianzong helping Xie Ziyue sit down with his gentle look.
Especially Xie Ziyue's swollen belly shows that she is about to give birth to an heir for the emperor!
This child is really tenacious. I didn’t expect that nothing would happen to him in such a situation before, and he was so tired that he was punished in vain...
But... thinking of today's arrangements, the queen lowered her eyes and covered up the flash of cruelty between her eyebrows.
The concubine De below was still scurrying around. Obviously all this should be her business as the queen, but one of her concubines got there first!
The Queen almost broke her silver teeth. If she hadn't still remembered the Queen Mother's instructions in her mind, she could hardly control her facial expressions.
They're all a bunch of bitches!
Concubine De was busy going in and out to give instructions to the palace people. Before she entered the palace, she was also the eldest daughter of the family. She was taken by her mother to teach her since she was a child. She knew these aspects very well and handled things in an orderly manner.
The officials and their family members of the third rank and above quickly took their seats, and the rest of the emperor's relatives also took their seats.
When Concubine De saw everyone sitting down, she winked at the people on the side, and soon a string of flowery and jade-like dancers appeared on the stage with the sound of silk and bamboo.
Han Xianzong and his ministers and brothers toasted and exchanged glasses, and the family banquet was in great style.
"My brother returned to Beijing today and learned the good news that the emperor's brother is about to have a son. I would like to congratulate the emperor's brother."
The one who spoke was the Ninth Prince. He was also one of the smarter princes during the late Emperor's reign. He did not stand in line and was not interested in the position of the Ninth Prince. His favorite thing was to visit the mountains and rivers. Therefore, Emperor Xianzong of the Han Dynasty remembered his affection very much and gave him a favor. Had a glass.
The other brothers, all of whom were disabled due to their previous fight for the throne, were sitting at the bottom with gloomy expressions.
After hearing the Ninth Prince congratulating Han Xianzong on the birth of his son, several people snorted coldly, the sound was very obvious, and it was obvious that they deliberately wanted to make Han Xianzong unhappy.
Han Xianzong could see clearly, but now his foundation was unstable. Although these brothers were abandoned by the late emperor, they still cared about this position after he ascended to the throne.
Several princes who were able to participate in the battle for the heir during the reign of the late emperor had prominent wives and foreigners. This was also the most taboo point for Han Xianzong now, so he did not say a word and pretended that he did not hear.
Xie Ziyue's expression was indifferent. Gu Xuan was awakened by the music and voices below and couldn't help but play with her, so Xie Ziyue didn't pay too much attention.
But Concubine De was not so happy.
What do these princes mean?
The Ninth Prince congratulated Emperor Xianzong of Han Dynasty on his upcoming son, simply saying that he and Xie Ziyue were pregnant with dragon descendants.
But they sneered like this. Did they not believe that their children could be born safely?
Concubine De was not that great to be angry with Xie Ziyue, but she was also about to be a mother and felt very unhappy.
Her parents' family was prominent, and her brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and parents were naturally at the banquet. Seeing the prince's reaction, the whole family looked unhappy.
These princes were bold and bold, and the Fujin they married was quite good. They tried to smooth things over with a smile:
"The Ninth Prince is right. Seeing that the imperial concubine is inconvenienced, it seems that the day is approaching."
When Xie Ziyue was mentioned, a soft smile appeared on her face: "It's still early, thank you Fujin for your concern."
On the other hand, the third prince, who had always been hostile to Han Xianzong, seemed to suddenly remember something when he heard this and said:
"I remember that Lao Ba's Fujin has good medical skills and can diagnose whether an unborn fetus is a boy or a girl. Today is a great day, why don't I let Ba Fujin diagnose the imperial concubine to see if what he said is true."
